Moors boss wants another FA Cup moment to remember

The Moors make the short journey up the A1 on Saturday to Dunston UTS in The FA Cup Second Round Qualifying, a side they are familiar with due to their Northern League battles over the years.

Now flying high in the Northern Premier League Division One North following last season’s promotion, Spennymoor go into the tie as favourites – but Ainsley knows first-hand that counts for nothing in The Cup.

“Bishop Auckland pushed us all the way in the last round, and if we play like that against Dunston then we will go out – simple as that,” Ainsley told TheFA.com.

“They are one of them teams that could fit easily into the Evo-Stik – very strong and organised, and good at set plays. They tick all the boxes of a side in that league.”

His team go into the encounter in good form but he knows the size of the task ahead.

Ainsley added: “Out of the games we have lost this season the only one we didn’t deserve anything from was against Darlington. Other than that, performances haven’t been bad.”

On Tuesday night we were excellent against Ossett Town, winning 5-0, so we are going into it in good spirits, but we always know going into a game with Dunston is a very tough challenge. I’ve got a lot of respect for that club, and their manager Billy Irwin.”

Ainsley has over 20 years of association as both a player and manager with the Durham outfit, and he has seen a dramatic change in their fortunes during that time – peaking with victory in The FA Vase Final at Wembley in 2013.

Back in 1990, when the club was named Spennymoor United, they reached The FA Cup First Round Proper and came close to pulling off a shock against Chesterfield – eventually going down 3-2 at Saltergate.

Ainsley was a member of the side that day, and he admits whenever The Cup comes around he allows himself to dream of emulating that feat – although for the time being he has his “manager’s hat on”.

Ainsley with The FA Vase in 2013

He said: “The gates are up again this season. Our lowest crowd was around 500 on Tuesday, which was still the highest crowd in the league.

“The crowds are good, and we always have at least one coach of fans backing us at away games – and they often outnumber the home support. We hope that happens again on Saturday. They are getting good crowds now too so it promises to be a great atmosphere.”

He continued: “If I put my manager’s hat on, these early rounds of the competition are all about the club as it raises money. Every club at this level needs that. Then, if you get through this next stage, it starts becoming more about the players.

“You start to see yourselves playing against Conference sides, and you start to look at the games ahead where you could be playing Football League clubs.”

Recalling that day back in 1990, he added: “I did that as a player, and now I want to do it as a manager. We drew Chesterfield away in 1990, and only lost 3-2. It was brilliant for me as a young player at the time, and they are memories that will live with me forever.

“We played Brighouse a few weeks back from down that way, and a fan pulled me aside and said he remembered Spennymoor from that day and that I’d played. It was mad – so that just shows that it is still remembered 20-odd years on.

“The team we have got, we hope to get to the next stage and hopefully write a new chapter in our history. We want it for the chairman and all the backroom staff at the club who put so much effort in.”

And despite the success of promotion and FA Vase glory over the past few years, there is still one massive improvement Ainsley would like to see.

“One competition that we have let ourselves down massively in is The FA Cup,” he explained. “We went out without a whimper against Lancaster at home 1-0 last year. We just didn’t do ourselves justice.

“For whatever reason we just haven’t cut it in The Cup. Every single year I say to my players ‘one north east team always does well – why can’t it be us this?’. Hopefully it can be this season.”